On Lumumba Day, January 17, 2016, the statue of Patrice Lumumba in Kinshasa was guarded by Congolese security forces blocking anyone who wanted to pay respects to Congo's independence hero. Non-violent youth activists live in constant fear of being jailed or worse as their country slips ever deeper into Orwellian terror.

More than twenty years after the end of formal apartheid, several African nationalists who resisted the inhuman system are still languishing in prison. Yet many apartheid agents who committed atrocious crimes against the African people were pardoned, some without even expressing any remorse. This is unacceptable. The ANC Government must release all political prisoners now.

The number of Chinese businessmen is growing in the Namibian capital, where they supply affordable but low quality goods especially to low-income earners. But not everyone is excited about the presence of the foreigners.

A member of the armed wing of South Africa’s Pan Africanist Congress party recently rejected a government offer of conditional release from prison. Kenny Motsamai, condemned to two life sentences and 19 years, insists that he is a political prisoner who was arrested and convicted under apartheid, a system declared by the UN as constituting a crime against humanity. Why can’t the ANC government release him and his fellow Black nationalists?

The terrorists’ goal was to destabilize Burkina Faso. But why now? The most plausible hypothesis is that they wanted to regain a rear base they lost when a popular uprising overthrew Blaise Compaoré in November 2014.

Namibia, a mining frontier for decades, continues to struggle with mining companies which subject workers to dangerous working conditions. Among the alleged culprits are Australian multinationals. Well-established Australian companies face allegations of treating Namibian workers differently by subjecting workers to health risks which would be deemed unacceptable back home.

Discovery Metals built Boseto Mine at a cost of $175 million and Cupric Canyon bought it for $35 million. Workers put in their sweat and tears and were driven out in buses.

Fatal Extraction is an international collaboration combining corporate data and extensive field reporting to reveal deaths, injuries and community conflicts linked to Australian mining companies across Africa. Australia has more mining companies in Africa than other mining giants such as Canada and China.

Australian companies have built a powerful reputation for using start-up firms to acquire Namibian mining licenses for a song only to sell these for millions or billions of dollars a few years later.

For years, residents of Botlhatlogo, Sehithwa and Toteng, were among the poorest in Botswana; in 2014 the government-run Statistics Botswana found that 46.2% of the district’s residents lived in abject poverty. But the 2010 advent of the first ever copper mine in their midst raised hopes that perhaps things would turn out for the better. But that hope has all but fizzled out.

The increase in gold mining activities in Côte d’Ivoire has been touted by the Ivorian government as a shot of adrenaline into the heart of national economy and the path to development of local communities where gold mines are operated. But the boom has been more of a curse for populations from the gold-rich area of Bonikro/Hiré where Newcrest, an Australian mining company, is disturbing the tranquility of locals.

Investigative reporters counted more than 380 employees, subcontractors and community members in 13 countries who died in accidents or incidents linked to the companies since the beginning of 2004, including some who were shot to death. More were horribly disfigured or injured while working at Australian mines or during community protests against them.

The status afforded them by the government is shrouded in secrecy; whether they are visitors, refugees, asylum seekers or another category altogether. They do not appear to have the right to work and to family reunion. Worse still, they are actually not permitted to leave Ghana for 2 years.

Ghanaians are going to the polls on November 7. What will they be voting for? What do they hope to achieve? There are thoughtful lessons from a former president whose legacy remains controversial, though.

The malaise of America has to be something about an inability to see, hear and feel the truth about itself. The worst social equality rates, a failing education system which indebts thousands of graduates for life while contributing to the advancing poverty of unsustainable wage and excessive military spending are just a few arguments in favour of building a wall, so that USA can figure itself out.

Finally, it seems there is light at the end of the tunnel in Nigeria. Corruption is now firmly in the focus of a man who could for ever change the face of politics and indeed a country. Ibrahim Magu is taking on the big guns and he has no intention of backing down, not matter who or what the criminals employ to cover their actions.

The activists say the current political crisis has caused immense suffering to the citizens and urgent intervention is needed. They accuse the government of gravely breaching the Constitution of Burundi and the Arusha Accords.

On 20 December 2015 at 1.13 pm I received a text message notifying me of a stabbing incident at checkpoint 56 in Hebron Old City near Shuhada Street. News would soon talk of a 35-year-old woman shot with a rubber bullet as she allegedly attempted to stab a soldier, the latest episode of tension between Palestinians and Israelis. “The soldiers do not allow the ambulances to operate; our children are left bleeding until they die. You could be killed just for taking your ID out of your pocket”, a local Palestinian explained to us.

Former Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt’s appointment as chief executive of Save the Children has made headlines in Denmark because of her anti-immigration position and her party’s support of a new immigration bill. Many have criticized her policies, including the Danish branch of Save the Children.

In the ruling party manifesto, peace and stability are presented as President Museveni’s legacy. However, it is ironic that a re-election campaign built on these claims is now widely associated with so much state-sponsored violence and intimidation.